Let the Dream Begin
by ElphabaAngelofMusic
Summary: Christine wanted freedom, but sometimes freedom just isn't enough. After the Phantom lets Christine and Raoul go from his lair, the past quickly catches up with her... Based on the movie/musical, with hints of Kay and Leroux.


**Okay, so this is my first official fanfiction story based on the POTO story and so I'm sorry if it's not very good! Hopefully, you'll think it's amazing! :) I wasn't sure where to start the story so I watched POTO the movie last night, although it was more of an excuse to watch Gerard Butler as the Phantom again lol. :) I decided to start off right at the end of the movie, after the final lair scene where Christine says goodbye to the Phantom. I really, really hope you all like this as I struggled for days to think of the best way to write it and do some justice to POTO. Please review to let me know what you think! :)**

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**Let the Dream Begin**

Golden hazel eyes filled with such anguish staring into mine, begging me to reconsider as I slipped the silver ring within the palm of his hand, closing his fingers around the small heart shaped diamond.

I watched as tears slipped down from his eyes, giving away his weakness as I stepped away from him.

_I have to do this_.

I reminded myself over and over again, picturing all of the wicked things he had done.

I knew if I was to stay with him now, then I would never leave him again. All I wanted was freedom. The choice to live my life how I wanted.

I took a deep breath and turned my back, resisting the urge to run back and make sure he was okay.

There was no denying he had done a lot for me over the years. He had been there for me when nobody else was.

But I needed to go, to be free…

As I rounded the corner and stepped into the main entrance of his lair, it became a little easier to pretend this wasn't as hard as it was.

My feet dragged across the stone flooring warily.

The beat of my heart was racing at an alarming rate to the point where it almost felt as though it would explode within my chest.

Raoul was waiting by the boat impatiently and he sighed in relief as I finally made my appearance.

I smiled in apology as I realised he had been concerned about me, despite still believing that my angel would never have hurt me.

I felt appeased to see for myself that Raoul was okay despite how I had only been gone from him for just a few moments to say my goodbyes.

I felt reassurance just by Raoul's presence and I addressed his golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes which were staring at me affectionately with fondness.

As I reached his side, the front part of the bottom of my dress lightly brushed against the water and the chill of the river sent a shiver along my body.

Raoul held out a hand for me to take.

I pulled up the bottom of my dress a little to make it easier for me to climb into the boat and accepted his hand.

His skin felt warm against my hand, a pleasant reminder that he really was here and that I was safe. That we were _both_ safe.

I turned to glance at him as soon as he began to row us away from the shore of the lair and he smiled fondly at me.

"Christine, I love you." He repeated them same words that the phantom had just a few minutes before.

I couldn't quite manage a smile, not when I was leaving my angel behind. I felt guilty somehow, as though I had some part in everything that had happened, everything he had done.

"_Say you'll share with me, one love, one lifetime_." I began to sing as we rowed away together, back to safety.

"_Say the word and I will follow you_." He sang back, his sweet, comforting voice lulling through the lair.

"_Share each day with me, each night, each morning_…"

Even as I sang, stood by Raoul, with my hand pressed against his free arm sweetly as he continued rowing, I couldn't stop myself from glancing backwards over the glossy base of the river and back towards the shore.

He was there, of course.

He stood on the very edge of the shore, watching as we left.

Even from the distance that lay before us, I could still see those intense golden eyes burning into mine, desperation in their midst. Those piercing eyes were sure to stay locked deep in my memory for as long as I lived.

And then he sang.

"_You alone can make my song take flight_." He sang so softly, I almost missed it, if it wasn't for the moving of his lips as he sang.

Shivers ran down my spine in response but I fought them away, closing my eyes and attempting to block him out of my memory the moment he began to walk away and back from the shore.

It would never work though.

He would forever remain in my memory. I would never be able to forget the agonizing sorrow within his golden eyes.

"_It's over now, the music of the night!_" I heard his voice bellow from behind us, bouncing off of the stone walls of his lair and making his voice so much more bitterly distressed, yet his voice was so much more unbearably angelic sounding than usual and I found that I couldn't bear to hear such devastation in his voice.

I closed my eyes, pretended to not be able to hear the smashing of glass that had suddenly erupted but that haunting voice still echoed my thought unbearably, reminding me of the sorrow I had caused.

_It's over now, the music of the night!_

I sobbed despairingly as that voice repeated itself again and again in my head, reminding me of the pain I had caused him in leaving him.

"No!" I begged, desperate for it to stop. "No please…_I'm sorry_!"

Those eyes, those devastatingly beautiful golden eyes, burning with desperation and anguish as they continued to stare at me flashed before my eyes once more.

"Christine!" A voice exclaimed, though it didn't belong to that same haunting voice of my angel.

I sobbed harder as I pictured him sat on the ground of my bedroom at his lair as he spoke those four words.

"_Christine, I love you_." He had sung, in the desperate belief that it might help in changing my mind in leaving him.

"Christine!" The voice spoke again, more urgently than the last time they had and I recognised the voice as another's…

Finally, my body slipped back into the present time, my eyes slipping open reluctantly as they addressed the darkness of the room.

There was a small light coming from the bedside table and I presumed that it was a candle, giving enough light for me to address the person in front of me.

Raoul was sat beside me, his figure looming over me as his hands pressed tightly against my forearms, shaking me urgently.

His blonde hair was wild and unruly and his blue eyes were wide in fear, roaming across my face anxiously as he noted the tracks of my tears.

His thumb stroked the damp trail of tears along my cheeks and he frowned unhappily in response.

"Dear Christine…was it the same nightmare?" He whispered softly, as though he believed in speaking any louder, he might just frighten me more.

I nodded frantically, my eyes slipping to the soft silk material of the duvet cover, rather than meeting his eyes.

I felt as though I was a disappointment to him for keep dreaming about this, about _him_.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked warily, sounding as though he was asking more because he felt he had to.

I shook my head, knowing that I shouldn't.

He shouldn't have to listen to the details of my nightmares once again, not when he couldn't bear to hear it.

He sighed heavily as he let his hand fall from my face, placing them awkwardly in his lap.

"I hate seeing you like this." He complained; his voice so quiet I had to strain to hear him. "Tell me what I can do to make it all okay. I'll do anything you ask." He begged.

Of course it wasn't as simple as that though.

Every single night, since we had both escaped _his_ lair the week before, the nightmares had been recurring every night.

Raoul frequently woke when I had a nightmare, though he didn't always. It made it somewhat less harrowing with him awake, holding me when I cried.

"I'll be okay." I lied, knowing that I would probably never be okay again.

I felt as though I had already had a long, tiresome discussion about what was keeping me from sleeping soundlessly with Raoul already though, despite how I had not.

I felt as though the breath had been kicked out of me and cried until I couldn't bear to anymore and what I craved more than anything right now was sleep.

"Christine _please_," Raoul begged me urgently.

I shook my head again, desperate to not have to discuss what I had seen in the nightmare. It was about _him_, it was always about _him_ and I didn't think it was fair to mention it again.

I wasn't the only one who was still trying to recover after the disastrous night. He was too.

"Raoul…just leave it, please, just for tonight. If I wake up again tonight, then I promise I will talk to you about it properly in the morning. I feel so tired." I admitted with a heavy yawn as I desperately fought against wanting to close my eyes once more.

"Okay," he agreed, sounding somewhat relieved that I was just as willing as him to drop the conversation. "Sleep well…my little Lottie." He whispered lovingly.

He forced a smile as he began to lean forwards, pressing his lips to the middle of my forehead and kissing me softly for a moment.

I closed my eyes and welcomed the touch of his soft lips against my skin, desperately trying to lose myself in his sanity, in the safety that Raoul brought along with his lovely presence.

It didn't work.

I shivered ungratefully as he moved away from me, getting up from my side of the bed. He moved around the other side of the bed, softly blowing out the candle beside me as he did and leaving us to fold into the darkness of night.

I shivered again at that thought.

Darkness and night; everything that reminded me of _him_.

I laid myself down as Raoul's comforting presence filled the empty space beside me. The warmth of his body was almost enough to make me forget about the coldness of my nightmares and the fright that they constantly brought back.

Almost, but certainly not entirely.

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**Okay...so what did everyone think? Good enough to continue?**


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